Just another odd L.A. story: Other NBA notes

That was great theater as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling publicly fell out of love with his next former coach, but the real issue is "The Donald" is on the loose again after the years of self-restraint that, in some coincidence, accompanied the greatest playoff success in team history. His comment to the Los Angeles Times -- "Do you think anybody loves their coach? They're just a necessity." -- was out of the Sterling 1980s playbook, when he would minimize and undercut good people at every level of the organization.

In the middle of a disappointing season filled with injury and a rainstorm of losses, the Clippers have a lot of problems, and suddenly none is bigger than the one that had appeared to be solved. Coach Mike Dunleavy dared Sterling to fire him, telling the Times in response: "I'm very frustrated, too. But I'm also frustrated with the organization," noting that proposed deals that could have helped avoid last place in the Pacific Division were vetoed by the business side that didn't want to take on big contracts. Dunleavy is in the first season of a four-year, $22 million extension, so he played his hand well, knowing there's little chance the Clippers will axe him this soon.

On the other hand, maybe they deserve each other. In the first game following the quarrel, Dunleavy told Los Angeles reporters he called Sterling earlier in the day and apologized and that Sterling gave him a strong commitment for the future. And Sterling said at halftime he had no idea why anyone was asking him about a conversation with Dunleavy. Only later did Dunleavy concede he never talked to Sterling.

NUTTY KNICKS: Larry Brown's accusation in Philadelphia magazine that the Knicks had "spies throughout the arena" during his regrettable stint as coach in 2005-06 is closer to the truth than a sign Brown has gone by way of Area 51. A franchise that only had a couple million other things going wrong invested countless man hours to have staffers listen to players and coaches being interviewed and forward what they heard to senior management for review. Brown's successor, president-coach Isiah Thomas, insists he be briefed on reporters' questions to players at practice.

MISSING NO. 1: There was an Andrea Bargnani sighting last week, but the 2006 No. 1 pick has mostly stalled as a sophomore while others from the top of that draft (Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay) have not. Even after scoring 20 points and getting seven rebounds as a key in Toronto's upset of Boston, Bargnani was averaging 9.0 points on 38.1 percent shooting and 3.4 rebounds and getting just 22.8 minutes a game despite starting most of the time. Coach Sam Mitchell has criticized Bargnani's lack of dedication.

A DASH MORE PEJA, PLEASE: The continued climb by the Hornets, all the way to the best record in the Western Conference, is even more impressive in light of the limited contribution from Peja Stojakovic. Expected to be a top offensive threat if healthy, he instead is averaging 15.1 points, on pace for his lowest output since 1999-2000 as a second-year player in Sacramento, and has broken 20 just five times in the past 15 games (including 22 Saturday night). The encouraging news is playing in 38 of the first 43 games after missing all but 13 last season because of a back injury.

CHANGED MAN: The ever-evolving Gerald Wallace once gain has a different persona. The shift from high-wire specialist -- whose offense consisted mostly of pulling lobs from the ceiling to throw down for dunks -- has reached all the way to where his three-point attempts have gone from .7 per game the first six seasons to 3.6 in 2007-08 despite a sub par success rate of 31 percent. Though Wallace's averages of 21.3 points and 6.2 rebounds are impressive, his field-goal percentage has fallen from 53.8 in 2005-06 to 50.2 in 2006-07 to 45.5 this season, though he has played through a lower leg injury lately.

SO LONG SHAQ

Shaquille O'Neal's humbling season likely will include the milestone of being left off the All-Star team for the first time, a setback that all but became official once fans selected the Magic's Dwight Howard as the Eastern Conference starting center. The only way O'Neal, who's averaging 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds, gets named a reserve is if coaches rationalize the choice as career-achievement recognition, and that is the longest of long shots as he limps through a dreadful Miami Heat season. Shaq has missed three All-Star Games because of injury but has been on the roster every time the midseason showcase has been held, with the 1999 game canceled because of the lockout.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)